The Photovoltaic (PV) industry is currently in rapid growth phase in the face of the unconstrained worldwide demand for energy and the deteriorating earth atmosphere caused by combustion emission gases. The supply of solar panels, dominated by polycrystalline silicon technology, is in severe shortage due to limited PV material supplies. Concentrator PV (CPV) systems have been recognized since 1950s for their significant reduction in the usage of precious PV materials by condensing sunlight to a cell that is up to 1000 times smaller than a non-concentrator system, therefore reducing PV material usage proportionally. As an added benefit, the energy conversion efficiency is enhanced considerably due to saturation of defects by free carriers at high flux levels. Efficient use of PV materials affords concentrator systems to incorporate multi junction PV cells with energy conversion efficiency more than twice that of silicon solar cells. However, for a concentration ratio of over 100, the acceptance angle of the optics is typically a few degrees. Therefore, the incidence axis of the collection optics has to be pointed directly towards the sun at all times during the day. In addition to this diurnal motion in the east-west direction, there is also a slower shift in the declination angle of the sun in the north-south direction, spanning 47° over a year. Thus, for systems with high concentration ratios, high precision tracking mechanisms on two orthogonal axes (or simply 2-axes) are required to follow the sun on daily and annual basis. At concentration ratio over 100, one-axis tracking is not practical, as it would require manual adjustments every few days.
Concentrator systems from prior art are based on either a heliostat design where a PV panel is mounted as the central receiver, or a radar dish design where PV panels with optics are mounted on a gimbal mechanism for two axes tracking. One axis tracking with seasonal adjustment is limited to lower concentrations, which do not justify system cost. Due to the harsh environment in the field, such as, but not limited to, wind, rain, dust and temperature cycles, the concentrator systems have to be made bulky and complex, and are therefore expensive to build, install, and maintain. Even with the recent development of flat plate CPV modules, each module contains a fixed array of micro concentrator assemblies, and the modules are still placed on a large tracking structure. Because of the bulky construction and complexity in maintenance, they are long believed to be unfit and unsightly for commercial or residential applications, especially for rooftop of homes. For utility installations, commonly thought of as the major application of CPV, the complexity and perceived risks under severe weather conditions made the acceptance of these flat plate CPV modules challenging. Attempts to lower the cost of ownership by reducing system size and minimizing impact of the environment were unsuccessful. As a result, concentrator PV systems have failed to reach commercial success beyond demonstration projects. Concentrator designs and history can be found in reviews by Swanson in Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. Vol. 8, 93-111, (2000), and more recently, by Kurtz and Friedman in Optics & Photons News, June 2005, pp 30-35.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a radiant energy concentrator system that has a large concentration ratio in terms of delivered energy per unit area, for example, without limitation, greater than 100, to remove the PV material bottleneck while justifying system cost. It would be further desirable if such a system is a low profile flat panel that is mounted on rooftops or simple support structures, has a tracking system hidden from view and isolated from wind, sand and moisture, allows for simple installation and low maintenance. A desirable feature of such a system is that it be suitable for high volume manufacturing processes such as, but not limited to, automation used in IC industry for low cost optics and panel assembly. For residential applications, the dark appearance of the conventional solar panels is unacceptable to some. It is therefore desirable to have panels that can be colored without loss of conversion efficiency. Additionally, architecturally pleasant multi functional systems that combine electricity generation, interior illumination, or air conditioning (heating/cooling) would accelerate the adoption of solar energy applications by the general public. Such a system would allow wide commercial applications of concentrator PVs for their superior energy conversion efficiency, low consumption of precious resources, and cost competitive to conventional energy sources.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.